Rabbi Laurence Kotok
Rabbi Laurence A. Kotok, D.D. serves as the senior rabbi at Temple B'rith Kodesh. Prior to arriving in Rochester in 1996, Rabbi Kotok served the North Country Reform Temple Ner Tamid of Glen Cove for 22 years.
Rabbi Kotok has been active and involved in bringing awareness and knowledge of drug and alcohol addiction to the Jewish and general community. Trained as a drug and alcohol counselor, Rabbi Kotok helped create Nassau-Suffolk Jewish Recovery – a unique Jewish response for Jews in recovery. Rabbi Kotok served as a member of the U. S. Congressional Commission on Drugs and Alcohol. Education. He has brought this important message to seminars at the U.A.H.C. Biennials, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, school districts and religious communities.
Active and visible in the Rochester community, Rabbi Kotok has served as the president of the Rochester Board of Rabbis, served on the boards of the Jewish Community Federation and the Rochester United Way and is a member of the Religious Observance Committee of the Pittsford Schools.
He is a member of the New York State Human Rights Commission and serves on the board of the Jewish Child Care Association.
Working to increase mutual tolerance and respect, Rabbi Kotok has been recognized for his long-standing involvement with interfaith programs, such as TBK’s associations with Mt. Olivet Baptist Church and the First Presbyterian Church of Pittsford.
On the national level, Rabbi Kotok created and the chaired the Rabbinic Council of ARZA World Union, which supports the work of the Reform movement throughout the world.